Eurofighter Typhoon Begins Air Surveillance in Austria

(Hallbergmoos/Graz, June 30, 2008) -- As of 01 July, Eurofighter Typhoon will take over the protection of Austrian airspace under the leadership of the Joint Armed Forces Command, Graz, and the Air Surveillance Command, Wals, of the Austrian military.

The Republic of Austria became the first export customer for Eurofighter Typhoon following selection of the type in 2003. The Austrian Air Force will receive a total of 15 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft up to 2009, all of which will be stationed with the Air Surveillance squadron at Zeltweg, Steiermark.

The first of the 15 aircraft was accepted into the squadron on 12 July. In just eleven months since then, fully armed Eurofighter Typhoons have been patrolling the skies over the Austrian host stadiums during the Euro2008 football championships, securing the airspace together with other aircraft types and ground-based support, therefore guaranteeing security at the venues.

Aloysius Rauen, CEO Eurofighter GmbH, commented: "The fact that Austrian Eurofighter Typhoons have, after an internationally comparably short preparation time, reached the stage where they are ready to take on their mission spectrum, speaks volumes for the training and dedication of the air and ground crews assigned to the weapon system. This achievement deserves full recognition and I would like to therefore congratulate the Austrian Air Force.

At the same time, this underlines the platform flexibility of our weapon system. Eurofighter Typhoon was developed to be able to take on a range of missions for the lowest operational costs. Clear investment in infrastructure, technology and above all personnel, aligned with an intelligent logistics support concept, is what has made the swift transition to a mission ready status in Austria possible.

Today, as Eurofighter Typhoon takes on the responsibility for airspace protection over Austria together with other systems, it is a reason for the consortium and partner companies to be more than satisfied."

Source : Eurofighter

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